3 comments about Snapshot Chronicles: Inventing the American Photo Album.

1. This book, for the reasons already mentioned by the other reviewers, is wonderful in its format and presentation of the information. I thoroughly enjoyed poring over the various albums presented and marveled at the unique creativity of each of their authors. As a person who creates scrapbooks, I admit feeling some sorrow that these albums have wandered far from their original "families," but at the same time, it gave me hope that there is an increasing respect for the folk art aspects of the "snapshot album" and that my albums -- if they go astray -- may someday be archived and revered like so many American handstitched quilts. So, I take solace in that the future my "art" is full of possibilities!
   
   I have one small criticism: I would have liked to have seen the text printed in a slightly larger typeface. I found the small typeface difficult to read with my aging eyes -- but, I persevered and read every word!



2. This is a most interesting book, at least for people such as myself who have an interest in late 19th and early 20th century photography. Actually, I suspect it would also intrigue people who lack that enthusiasm but who have an interest in general social history of this period. A premise of the book is that photographs in albums are often times given added historical or literary meaning and visual interest by being placed into a personalized context by an arranger, compiler, and/or photographer. This context provides the photographs with an enhanced ability to create an historical account of a life, a portion of a life, an event, etc. - without being subservient to a text. Most of the albums presented do not have any substantial written commentary (and many have no written text other than labels for individual photographs), and rely on the images alone to provide the larger insights. The book is extensively and richly illustrated with examples drawn from the large and thoughtfully acquired collection of Barbara Levine. These examples illuminate and extend the clear and insightful commentary in the book.
   
   The book also contains a very fine essay by the novelist Matthew Stadler discussing his ideas concerning the value of such albums that I was grateful to see, as these were ideas that would not likely have occurred to me, but were most insightful. This is a most pleasing inclusion.
   
   The historical component of a picture is obviously improved by being placed in context. One of the most interesting features of this book then, is its visual demonstration of the wide variety of historical narrative styles that can be illustrated by albums, and even the way historical events can be illustrated without a "narrative" per se.
   
   Definitely a valuable book for people who are interested in historical photographs. A small criticism, from my stand point is that I would have liked to have seen more albums filled with tintypes, but this is a _very_ trivial point when compared with the strengths of the book.



3. The cover is velvet, like one of those fancy Victorian-era photo albums. "Snapshot Chronicles" accompanies an exhibition at Reed College of innumerable photographs collected by Barbara Levine. The photographs are kept together as they were in albums of their original owners; or in the case of those not going with an album, in groups of similarly pictured individuals or similar subject matter. The source of the photographs was the Kodak Brownie camera introduced as a consumer item in 1900. This quickly led to an explosion of photographs of friends, relatives, yards and neighborhoods, vacation scenes, and varied activities (much as the cell phone has spurred new kinds of communication these days, one assumes). The photos were kept in "vernacular" photo albums; whose charm to later generations is explained by Willard Morgan, the Director of the Museum of Modern Art's Department of Photography in 1944, "The snapshot has become, in truth, a folk art, spontaneous, almost effortless, yet deeply expressive. It is an honest art...partly because it is simply more trouble to make an untrue picture than a true picture." The hundreds of simple, yet fetching snapshots were taken before the days when artists, photojournalists, advertisers, and propagandists started to make use of cameras for their own specialized ends. Thus, the guileless, popular, vernacular snapshots can be seen as an unwitting visual social history of the era too.

2 comments about Paper Advertising Collectibles.

1. Every one of the 208 pages is loaded with large full color, sharp photos, along with comprehensive text. 16 chapters cover items from almanacs, calendars, catalogs, fans, to postcards, posters, signs and trade cards. One chapter deals with investing in paper advertising. Provides information about looking for the next paper advertising collectibles. Everyone interested in any kind of advertising will love this beautiful book and enjoy having it in their library !



2. This book combines everything anyone ever wanted to learn or just as a great reference guide!

5 comments about Vintage Postcards for the Holidays: Identification & Value Guide.

1. I guess being more a fan than a collector of postcards I have a different opinion than some of the reviewers who rated this book so low. Regarding prices, the fact is that on any collectible prices vary widely depending on your location and method of selling. As a long-time collector of toys and comic books, I can attest to that. Thus the criticism about pricing is completely invalid as this is merely a "guide" as any pricing guide is. I also would dispute the claim that many of the cards are in poor condition. Some are but the vast majority are not. We are talking about items that are in the neighborhood of one hundred years old so they are not all going to be in mint condition. I think the editors did a fantastic job of giving readers a very broad cross-section of types and styles of cards, regardless of condition.
   
   Anyway, the book is organized by Holiday beginning with New Years Day. Each section has an introduction and history of cards for that particular holiday which I found to be very informative. For example we learn that Valentine's Day cards were actually the first holiday cards to be widely distributed beginning in the 17th century. And we also learn that the Easter Bunny dates back to 1700's Germany. The book cruises the calendar year hitting every holiday including Arbor Day, April Fool's Day, Memorial Day, etc...
   
   The highlight for most collectors will be the Halloween and Christmas portions. Halloween cards are easily the most valuable and sought after for collectors and I do agree that the Halloween section is way too skimpy at twelve pages (not eight as another reviewer mentioned). Still even twelve pages is slight compared to Thanksgiving which gets some 40 pages. The Christmas section is broken up into Santa and non-Santa parts and again most collectors will be interested in the Santa cards as they bring far more value than the others.
   
   While Postcards for the Holidays isn't a perfect book, it does it's job very well. The photography and post card reproductions are very clear and colorful and the book is produced on heavy, coated stock paper.
   
   Reviewed by Tim Janson



2. Robert and Claudette Reed's Postcards For The Holidays, 2nd Edition arrived too late for more timely Christmas mention, but since holiday collecting is really a year-round occupation, it's not too late to mention the ongoing reference value of Postcards For The Holidays Identification & Value Guide, which appears in its 2nd updated edition. Pages come packed with color photos of seasonal cards organized by holiday along with current prices. The chapters each introduce with a history of manufacturers and approaches to further the educational teachings.



3. I am really disapointed in the second edition because it is basically a repeat of the first edition. Although there are more pages in the second edition, this books shows the same postcards as the first edition. Also, the text is the same. It's like buying the same book only there are a few new postcards added. The authors did remove pictures of beat up postcards and replaced them with new cards they must have added to their collection, but they never changed the prices of what the cards are worth. Granted, the first book was published in 2002, and the second edition has a copyright of 2006, but every postcard collector wants to see their collection has increased in value-especially the Halloween cards. The values were not even increased by a dollar!The Easter section and Santa Claus sections are lengthier and the cover is attractive, but this is not my idea of what a second edition should be. The publishers and editors should have been more critical. There is not one Winsch or Schmucker card shown in any of the holidays and any collector knows, these are the cream of the crop, especially with Halloween cards. As much as I like the format and appreciate the book being in color, I was really upset not to see more new postcards and a change in postcard values. This shows lack of research and I feel like the book was hastily thrown together. Don't buy it if you own the first edition and hesitate about the second edition. I didn't think it was worth the price being charged.



4. 
   I first came across this book for sale at an Antique Show where a dealer was selling reference books and price guides. I was appalled at the condition of the postcards pictured in the book! I would not recommend this book to anyone with an interest in learning about postcards other than "don't collect cards in the condition they are pictured in the book" as you would be throwing your money away. I would agree with the other reviews here - the cover is great but the inside is a joke.



5. I could not agree more with the 2 "negative" reviews I saw. I would not have 90% of these cards in my album if I had gotten them for FREE! "Personal taste" aside, to show cards in such poor condition is mind-blowing, especially in a book whose cover promises much more. I'm a very recent collector of Holiday postcards, so I've been buying every reference book I could find. "POSTMARKED YESTERYEAR" by Pamela Apkarian-Russell is a wonderful book. Joe Hohmann, Madia, PA

1 comments about Early Twentieth Century Hand-painted Photography.

1. At long last collectors of hand colored photos have a guide. This book is well organized, with photographers being listed alphabetically, making a particular artist easy to locate. The background and regionality of each artist is discussed, with representative works and titles of each listed as well. There are full chapters each for the discussion of unknown photographers, regionality, and the conservation and preservation of hand painted photos. Particularly helpful is the 15 step guide to cleaning and restoration. This 1/2 inch thick book is crammed full of useful information, and would have earned 5 stars except for a couple of problems. The first is the exclusion of two Western photographers. Burton Frasher, of Pomona, California, and the McCulloch Brothers of Phoenix, Arizona. Frashers Photo is an important part of CA history, and his exclusion here is a serious one. His b&w postcards are well known, and while his painted photos are less numerous, they are beautifully done and deserve mention. The McCulloch Brothers likewise did outstanding artistic work with photos of the Arizona desert, rivaling even the best work of the Bear Studios. There are also some quality control issues. Some of the photo examples did not print correctly, appear out of focus and have little colored lines around them. The paper used seems poor quality, and I felt I needed to take care in turning pages to avoid undue wrinkling. Despite these problems, I still highly recommend this book. Very useful for collectors!

1 comments about Time for Halloween Decorations (Schiffer Book for Collectors).

1. I'm no hoity-toity Ivy League professor of Halloween literature or professional 'New York Times' book reviewer with a bloody Halloween ax to grind, but I am confident when I state that "Time for Halloween Decorations" would make an excellent addition to the Halloween shelf of anyone's holiday bookcase. No room on that bulging shelf? Throw out some of those dusty volumes of Satanic ritual and inky black magic. Don't have a holiday bookcase? Shame on you! IKEA has many inexpensive bookcases and shelving units that would suffice. Do yourself a favor and start your holiday bookcase today! You won't regret it. Ever. I give you my solemn oath.

1 comments about Old-Time Advertising Cards: 24 Full-Color Cards (Card Books).

1. I'm a big fan of old-time advertising, have always been and this card book is a great synthesis of amazing cards, especially made for collectors like me. They are made of a great quality, brilliant colours and designs. Totally worth it!!!

4 comments about Love Letters, Lost.

1. The beauty of this book, beyond the romantic nostalgia inspired by vintage photographs and handwritten letters, is that it is a collection created from discarded or "lost" memorabilia. The images and letters were once, we can reasonably believe, very important to the anonymous beholder before they were set adrift in estate sales, flea markets, and junk stores. The author performs a service of social research and cultural reclamation by taking these things in, preserving them, and creating an outlet for them to be rediscovered by other people. I highly recommend this book for anyone at all interested in being part of that process or anyone who is moved by the sentimentality of others.



2. So I received this book as a gift, and so I can't hate it too much. I did not know that I could collect a bunch of nostalgia, throw it all in a messy anthology with some random pictures of old couples and make some money. Maybe I should try it. I wouldn't consider these 'love letters' per say, because most of them are just from ordinary people chronicling their mundane lives to someone who will listen. When you buy this book you turn into that someone.
   
   Lesson is that nothing's changed over the years. There's no magic in this collection, just a bunch of hodge podge. Cute though. Some are a bit witty, some whiny, most just plain BORING. A sweet little novelty, nothing great.



3. I like looking at old pictures and old letters, but I thought when I bought the book that I would actually be looking in the history of someone's life with pictures to go with it but that was not the case. It is just a random bunch of pictures and a random bunch of letters put together in a book. The pictures aren't necessarily the pictures of the people who wrote the letters, so you know nothing of the authors, no explanation of the times they lived in or the place they lived in or anything. In other words, no story behind it whatsoever. Just a disappointing collection.



4. Another beautiful contribution by this author. Love letters to make you weep, smile, laugh and imagine . . . or remember . . . how it feels to love and be loved.

No comments about The History of Printed Scraps.

5 comments about Collector's Guide to Early Photographs (Collectors Guide Series).

1. Perfect book for the beginner in the world of early photography. Details each type of early photo, describes the process used to make it, and explains how to identify it. The author also shares tips on buying: what to look for, what's exceptional, and what to avoid. Gives prices and lots of great picture examples, and details restoration efforts that beginners can and should do, as well as what NOT to do. Loved it and would highly recommend!



2. This book was great. I collect cabinet cards. They are not as collectible as other forms of photographs, and that makes it very hard to find good information. This book was very helpful. It gave me information to date them, and which one are rare, uncommon, and unusual.



3. I was blessed with a box full of old photographs, including some that I called "daguerreotypes", really not knowing what they were. I still have the photos in storage, but after reading this book, and having it on hand to refer to, I feel confident that I will be able to properly identify the photos. Most of these are from the mid 19th to early 20th century and this book covers this period exactly.



4. This is a marvelous book. It is chock-full of information on the various photographic processes of the early 19th century. It takes us from cased images (daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, tintypes) to photography on paper (calotypes, wet plates, albumen prints, cartes de viste, cabinet cards, sterographs) to late 19th century processes (dry plate, silver prints, platinum prints) and has a special section on US Civil War images. An exhaustive reference sure to please.



5. This has it all. I've seen a read a lot of collectable type books and this is the best. It contains everything you need to know about early photographs. This doesn't just tell you the prices but explains why certain photographs are valuable and all the history too.

No comments about Children's Paper Premiums in American Advertising: 1890-1990s.